CHESTERTOWN, Md. – It took the No. 9 Ursinus College men's lacrosse team a little while to get untracked in Wednesday's Centennial Conference clash at Washington College, but sustained pressure and consistently solid defensive play was enough to separate the Bears for a 10-7 victory.
Junior Bobby McClure (four goals, one assist) and senior Peter DeSimone (three goals, two assists) each notched a five-point night to help the Bears (7-1, 1-1) overcome a 3-1 first-half deficit and bounce back from their first loss of the season over the weekend at Gettysburg.
After a scoreless first quarter, a large surplus of shots ultimately told the tale. Ursinus fired off 54 shots on the evening, and even though only 22 were on target, the relentless attacking eventually wore down the Shoremen (2-6, 0-2).
Despite a 54-33 advantage in shots in the first quarter, the Bears were unable to put one past Shoremen goalie Chris Del Rosario. DeSimone finally broke the ice 21 seconds into the second stanza, picking up a rebound and slinging a low-to-high shot into the cage for a 1-0 lead.
Washington College, however, responded with three consecutive goals of its own to take a 3-1 lead into the final five minutes of the first half. But the Bears got hot late. DeSimone made it 3-2 with a highlight-reel goal, spinning inside his man and bouncing in a shot while falling down at the 4:13 mark. McClure tied it with a leaping shot from behind the net and, after the Shoremen regained the lead at 4-3, sophomore Hakan Atillasoy faked high and shot low to level the spread again.
With 32 seconds left in the half, McClure picked up the ground ball off an errant pass and beat the keeper with a quick shot to put Ursinus in front, 5-4, at the break.
The Bears came out firing in the third, doubling up the hosts with three more unanswered markers. McClure scored on a high shot off a feed from Atillasoy, who then fed up top to classmate Joe Mercurio for a top-shelf rocket. Junior Evan Scott potted one of his patented transition goals, streaking down the alley and firing a low shot past Del Rosario to make it 8-4 at the 8:01 mark of the frame.
Washington College pulled one goal back and had the ball in the waning seconds of the third with a one-minute man-up advantage in its pocket, but junior Noah Frantz checked the ball out of a Shoremen stick to negate their automatic possession and short-circuit a scoring opportunity.
McClure scored his fourth of the night to make it 9-5, and Casey Grieves netted his fourth for Washington College at the 6:49 mark before the teams traded goals in the last 15 seconds to add on to the final scoreline.
With four goals, McClure moved into a tie for fifth in school history with 84 for his career, while DeSimone now sits seven away from matching the all-time record of 110.
Scott led the Bears with five ground balls and added two caused turnovers to match Frantz. Miscues played a large role in this one, with the Shoremen committing 24 to 16 for Ursinus. That, and the Bears' huge shot total, were enough to offset a 14-6 advantage in the faceoff circle for the home side.
Senior goalie Nick Kirk finished with nine saves, including several from point-blank range in the second quarter.
Ursinus welcomes Swarthmore to Patterson Field on Saturday for a noon conference showdown.